IT IS an exciting time for pleasure research. Many disciplines now recognise that pleasure is at the heart of human nature. The so-called fundamental pleasures are linked to the evolutionary imperatives of survival and reproduction, and can be elicited by food, sex and social interactions. We know more about the brain networks mediating pleasure, and this offers new strategies for remedying and stalling their breakdown in addiction, depression and other mental illnesses.
Paul Bloom acknowledges the importance of fundamental pleasures, but ignores much of existing research. He focuses instead on higher pleasures, such as paintings and stories. For Bloom,…
